Four Mythbusters about Social Media for Banking Executives

  

 Email Article  

Tweet  

  

By Scott Weighart, Director of Learning and Development

The other morning, ESPN SportsCenter had a short feature about a first in professional sports.  A pro lacrosse team has decided to ditch the idea of having names on the back of their jerseys. 

Instead, their shirts now feature their Twitter handles, such as @MaxSeibald42.  Why, you may well ask?  The team is looking to break down barriers between the fans—their customers—and the players—their employees.

So what’s my point?  While some organizations are finding creative ways to use social media, banks are lagging behind.  A recent Boston Business Journal lead story talked about how banks are “reluctant to jump on the social media bandwagon” because of concerns about compliance as well as bandwidth.

Here’s my news bulletin for you as a banking leader: You do need to jump on the social media bandwagon soon if you haven’t already.   So here are some myths that I’d like to bust about social media for banking executives.

1. “We don’t need to be active in social media.”

Social media today is like playing golf.  There are all sorts of hazards and traps that are easy to hit if you aren’t careful.  But you won’t come out ahead by taking your ball and going home.

Your customers are already talking about your bank out there on Facebook and Twitter.  Whether they’re sharing a great experience or a complaint, don’t you want to be a part of that conversation? 

To put it another way, your company already is involved in social media.  Just now, I looked up a bank’s Facebook page and clicked on “Related Posts,” which allowed me to see what anyone on Facebook was saying about that bank.  Within 30 seconds, I found a profanity-laced tirade about that bank from an unhappy customer.   Somebody from that bank really should contact the customer and see what’s up.

This does take bandwidth—that’s no myth.  Somebody needs to be monitoring your social media presence every day, and they need training and expert support at times.  So there is a price of admission for meaningful, active social media.

2. “We don’t have time to deal with all of the compliance issues around social media.”

There is some validity to this concern.  It does take a steady commitment to monitor social media content, especially given that the SEC issued a recent advisory about social media.

Start off with baby steps.    There is some easy, low-risk ways you can connect with your customers on Facebook.  Share posts that highlight how your bank and its employees are helping charitable causes.  Create a Facebook wall, and respond to customer issues without venturing into making financial recommendations or any sorts of sales pitch.  

Make it fun!  The other day Eastern Bank put this post on Facebook:  “Fill in the blank!  The lack of snow this winter is _______.”  They received 39 replies within an hour!  They’re keeping their name in front of customers without doing anything remotely risky.

For the Super Bowl, Eastern Bank encouraged followers to post football-themed photos on their wall.  In the Boston Business Journal article, their spokesman said that people can post anything on their wall except profanity and threats.  They’re creating a sense of community… and none of the content would make the SEC bat an eyelid.

3.      “You can’t run any substantial content without running into compliance problems.”

A neighbor of mine used to work for the SEC.  She admits that social media is confusing her and many others in the banking and investment world.  However, she believes that this is an opportunity for banking executives to get some clarity by talking to compliance experts.  There are lines that you can’t cross, and everyone in your organization needs to understand them.  And someone will need to monitor your output.

If you’re okay with that, you definitely can go beyond asking people what they think about the weather or the Super Bowl.  According to my expert friend, the key is to stick to providing useful information that is objective, public, and not advisory in nature.  You can blog about the economy, for example, though you need to include a disclaimer to ensure that your comments are not interpreted as investment advice.  But nothing says you can’t offer your thoughts about the history of the price of gold or trends with economic indicators—as long as you have that disclaimer.

4. “Everyone else is doing it, so why can’t we?”

You can go too far with social media.   As a compliance expert, my friend sees some investment companies that are basically offering investment advice or not using disclaimers.  It makes her cringe.  Given that people are confused about social media, she thinks that some companies are checking out what competitors are doing… and assuming that a given practice must be fine if it’s out there in social media.   That would be a huge mistake.  You need to consult compliance experts when creating a social media policy.  Be sure to get advice—in writing—from an expert before you post, blog, or tweet any content that is related to banking rather than friendly chit-chat.

Otherwise, like many a golfer, you could find yourself in a stubborn trap or in deep water.